


... just a few more moments of happiness

by Akiko_kitsune



Series: ShouTakaWeek2019 [1]
Category: Gintama
Genre: Birthday, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-07-30 05:10:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20091808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_kitsune/pseuds/Akiko_kitsune
Summary: Shouyou's students finally learnt when their teacher has a birthday.





	... just a few more moments of happiness

**Author's Note:**

> Since we all finally learn when Shouyou has a birthday and Selyann moved forward with organising ShouTaka week, here you have my new quick fix, I wrote it on vacation, so it might be bad...
> 
> Also, there is a knife here, so beware.

Shouyou sighed. "Do you know how old are you?" he asked a girl.  
  
Hotaru, as he'd just named her, shook her head. She didn't know that either. She had been straying for at least a year with a boy, Mikage. He was always calling her _little sister_ since she hardly spoke and never told him her name. He took good care of her, there was nothing to argue about it, but it wasn't a responsibility a child should take on its shoulders. So Shouyou took them in. There was always a place in his school for new disciples.  
  
"Okay," Shouyou gathered his thoughts. "Some people think that the day and the month of the birthday are more important than its year..." Hotaru was about to shook her head again, but Shouyou smiled and asked her: "What would you say if your birthday was on 8th August?"  
  
"It would be okay."  
  
Shouyou's smile got larger gearing her speaking more freely for the first time. He looked at his students who were awfully curious creatures gathered around. "Unless anyone is against it? Shinsuke? She will take a bit of your spotlight," Shouyou chuckled softly.  
  
"Don't care," Takasugi brushed it off quickly. _Not caring_ was basically his image, but it was said towards Shouyou it sounded softer as _I don't mind _and if Shouyou smiled to him and chuckled, it was more hurried, threw quickly before blush would paint his whole face red.  
  
"He has too much spotlight anyway," Gintoki grunted and soon got elbowed by Takasugi.  
  
"My, my, don't fight," Shouyou laughed a bit hopelessly. But all his disciples knew that underneath this angelic attire was hiding a force ready to teach them a lesson if they weren't obedient enough.  
  
"Sensei?" Hotaru spoke again shyly.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"When are your birthday?"  
  
Shouyou blinked a few times before putting on back his gentle smile. "For adults birthdays tend to lose a bit of meaning. After some time it all blur..." She stared at him fiercely. Shouyou almost chuckled. He chose a good date for a birthday for her. She seemed a have some common traits with this one his disciple who was born around that time too. And that fierce gaze... Shouyou was never able to run away from it. "Let's think about it... It was some scorching hot day... 4th August?"  
  
"Is it like... tomorrow?" Gintoki cut in.  
  
"Is it?" Shouyou crooked his head. "I thought it was yesterday... Dates are hard to keep up with. Let's stay on the 4th of August." Some of his students wore a bit troubled expressions, so he asked: "Is there anything wrong?"  
  
Gintoki wanted to answer, but Katsura covered his mouth with his hand and hurriedly said: "No, there is nothing wrong with it, sensei."  
  
"Okay. Then, will you excuse me, I need to help our knew friends to settle in?" he asked politely and left with both Hotaru and Mikage.  
  
Only then Katsura let go of Gintoki.  
  
"What was that?!" he threw right away furious.  
  
"I have an idea." Everyone moved closer to him. Katsura was always the smartest and everyone was listening to him. Even good-for-nothing Gintoki and Takasugi peaked curious. "Since Shouyou-sensei is always doing so much for us, maybe we will do something in return this time?"  
  
No one questioned it. At first most of them were confused what their roles might be, but Katsura as a great leader figure out everything and divided tasks between everyone. He rarely took spotlight hanging with Gintoki and Takasugi, but this time it was his moment to shine. Even his eyes sparkled with enthusiasm.  
  
Takasugi wouldn't be himself if he was good with only listening to someone's orders. He wanted to do something more.  
  
He wasn't particularly good at anything. Even Katsura didn't ask him to do much that day. At least that gave him more time to think on his own plan, but his ideas tend to show up either at night or at the very last minute.  
  
With a sunset, he recalled one thing - Shouyou liked his poem. He even took it and kept it in his notebook. That meant a lot for Takasugi.  
  
So maybe... He would try again t write something for him again.  
  
He stoled some candles with an unspoken promise he would try his hardest to return them when he got an occasion.  
  
He spent the whole night working on the poem. At first, the words weren't working out. He used so many pages to come up with it. Then he kept making so many mistakes in it.  
  
It had to be perfect. It was his gift for Shouyou.  
  
Takasugi rewrote it very last minute cause he changed his mind about calligraphy he used. He ended up dissatisfied with it. While giving it to Shouyou, only because Katsura forced him to, he mumbled: "I'll do something better next year."  
  
"Okay," Shouyou smiled at him. "I'll be waiting."  
  
And that was how it became their thing. Each year Takasugi wrote a poem for Shouyou's birthday. And each year he was promising next time it would be better.  
  
He continued to do so when Shouyou wasn't around. He wrote even more than once a year. Cause if he was working on these poems he felt that Shouyou was somewhere there, waiting for him to give them to him once again.  
  
Only once again would be enough.  
  
And if they were over a few more moments of happiness, Takasugi would take all the poems he wrote during these lonesome years and chose the best of them. He would rewrite them into an anthology and give them to Shouyou on his birthday saying once again:  
  
"I'll do better next year."  
  
And that time Shouyou would have known, or maybe he had known that even before when the poems and the heart of the poet were becoming clearer to him, that all these poems meant _I'm in love with you_.  
  
And maybe that time Shouyou would tease as always his dearest student. "Hm... I'm not sure if there is anything better than this."  
  
"Is it a challenge?" Takasugi would ask right away.  
  
And maybe that time Shouyou would kiss him gently.  
  
And if they were given a few more moments of happiness, Takasugi would get to rephrase his promise: "I'll be loving you even more next year."  
  
Don't worry about them. Maybe it did happen in some kinder world.  
  
And in some maybe even kinder world, at night the very same 4th of August, when they would lie down together, nuzzled into each other, Takasugi would ask: "You chose that date by hazard, didn't you? You chose your name and your birthday as you've done later for some of the kids you've taken in."  
  
"Hm..." Shouyou would murmur kissing gently Takasugi's temple. "But I remember well it was some scorching hot day..."  
  
"When you were born?" Takasugi would laugh.  
  
"When I met Oboro... I don't remember what date it was. Maybe he remembers that..."  
  
"We'll ask him tomorrow."

**Author's Note:**

> Hope it was enjoyable. Comment or find me on Twitter (@AkikoKitsune). And participate in ShouTaka week organised by our amazing Selyann!


End file.
